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Cyroth An-Bagranthar
His Imperial Highness, By the Grace of The Heavens, Father Imperial, Cyroth Taleg Royton An-Bagranthar, Emperor High and Undisputed of the Kymurian Empire, Kazan Oxūs Eraz, Protector of the March and the Angelican Faith, Lord over the Plains, Duke of the Greater Realms, Count of Masonburg, Mayor-Viceroyal of Krahull, Count of the Royal Estates, King of Anjuin and Grand Keeper of the Saffiric Seal, the first, was a Kymurian aristocrat, King, military leader and Emperor. He undoubtedly held the greatest significance over Panguilla in its history, being responsible for beginning the Imperial Era, defeating the greatest threat to Kymurian dominance, and making a great deal of social and political reform Early Life Cyroth An-Bagranthar was born into the An-Bagranthar family, a family of minor nobles who held power over the Island of Ubrus, and its smaller neighbouring islands of Alpya, Epral and Gaitt. At the time of Cyroth's birth, the place was almost universally unheard of. The islands themselves, or anyone from them, for that matter, had never had any major effect on Kymuria, and were far too small to hold any sway on events. Cyroth's first experience of office was after his father died on a whaling trip in the Sholl Incident. His mother, who was of failing health, revoked the title of Dowager of Ubrus in favour of her son. In his late teens and young adult years, he had taken many trips to the Kymurian mainland, and become obsessed with the fantastically wealthy and powerful Lordships and Baronies he had seen there. It was also where he met Baron von Eubreck, the young, rich, power-hungry friend who would serve as right hand man throughout Cyroth's life. Upon returning home at age 23, he immediately set out plans for his ascension to the Kymurian Elite. He wrote in his Diary that: “I needed two elements in order to create a powerful hegemony for myself: Wealth and Notoriety.” He began almost immediately by moving the primary town (Ubrus not being sizeable enough to have a city) from the traditionally inland Spesio to the port town of Agrye. From there, he began to look into opportunities to bring trade to the island, however, it was not remotely near any trade lines and had no industry or exportable resources to speak of. Cyroth found an ingenious way of exploiting the islands position, however. It was no secret that many wealthy lords who lived on the western coastline had been trying unsuccessfully for years to open a trade line from the south west to the north, however, many obstacles stood in the way. A Major one was the Act of Eastern Trade Accordance, passed 130 years prior, that forbade the foundation of mainland trade routes that had a base on the west coast, and had caused a monopoly on trade in the crescent gulf. However, Cyroth and his new friend Baron Von Eubreck took advantage of the geographical loophole that only forbade mainland trade routes from operating on the west-coast, and, if they could convince the Lords to follow them in this proposal, they would gain a great deal of influence. So for the first time in 40 years, a noble from the Ubrus isles arrived at the monthly Noble Council. The session continued for hours until the usual trade argument came up. It was here that Cyroth would first learn of Lord Ranault Frenntolic, who had ensured for some time that the ETA act stayed in place, because it was particularly advantageous to the Zeor Mountain Mines and bracken tea industries, who's copper, iron, rich minerals and goods became premiers of their type, due to the ruling. Until the day Cyroth arrived there, it had been little more than a pointless argument, because the law specifically forbade west coast trade, and the number of Eastern lords and their allies far outnumbered the western lords, with some western lords like the Thanes of the river siding with the easterners. This is why when Cyroth stood up to tell of his plan, there was uproar from the house, as the supporters of the knew of the “mainland” specification, and realised quickly that the Lords of the west, were now free to trade and a rescindment to the law to out-rule the mainland loophole could take over a year of slow deliberation and bureaucracy. This was the first ever modern style partisan political dispute in the Nobility Council, with the house dividing into Conservatives and Liberal trade factions. Therefore due to the fervour of the Liberal Lords, and the sympathies of the King, the elect was made, and Cyroth and his islands were now a major spot on the map. While eastern trade was still larger, it did suffer substantially. Within 5 years, Agrye had become a colossal port. The islands were bolstered and became an economic powerhouse. The lords who’s fortunes had been drained due to expensive tariffs from transporting goods over road to reach the East ports were saved. Cyroth became a popular hero of the liberally-minded populace. Before long, Cyroth was one of the most important, most loved, and most despised nobles in Kymuria. He frequently visited the Noble House, and captivated many with his speaking ability. Lord Hercar, speaker of the house, said at the time “The only occasions upon which the house was quiet were the Royal Ceremony and whenever Lord Cyroth opened his mouth.” Ascendancy to Power In 719KF the 29-year-old Cyroth joined the St Bellacio infantry regiment as a Lord-Colonel, since he had grown bored of managing trade bureaucracy. Cyroth's commanding officer was Baron General Maitland, who taught him much about war and the art of managing an army. The King, Attin III, was 97 years old. All four of his children had died. To prevent a constitutional crisis, he had specified that the Noble Council would convene and nominate the next Great House of Kymuria. When he died the following year, the council convened as planned. Several prominent factions emerged, similar to the splits in the house during the trade disputes: The most popular were the traditional conservatives, who supported the claim of Viscount Luis Blackbrook, nephew of King Attin and the current regent, however, Blackbrook himself was not keen on taking the throne, and was not technically a direct descendant of Attin. The next faction supported the claim of Karl, Duke of Horven, who was known for his liberal but to many, dangerous outlooks on the current system, and finally, the "Imperial" faction under Cyroth, who's position was one of Kymurian Nationalism. Tensions finally reached boiling point when Duke Tymon Flores, of the extremely influential but largely ignored House Flores, declared that "in the name of Holy Kymuria, in the name of King Huw, in the name of rightful justice" he would march on Saffira and take the crown. While many were glad that a decisive element was finally putting an end to the stagnant regency, the Noble Council was incensed. They drew up a war council consisting of Baron-General Maitland, Cyroth, and the Five Dukes of the Streaked River (all their lands bordering the Flores frontier) and sent them off to rally troops. Cyroth and Maitland called on their "regiment" to fight, and ensured their men were well paid and equipped suprisingly quickly, however they were badly let down by the Flores and Frenntolic Rebellions As war with the disloyal Northern Lords threatened, Kymuria had to turn its attention to its southern frontiers. Another small scale civil war had begun in the south as House Flores, under Duke Tymon Flores, turned against the new King. Aware of the anarchy in the southern regions and the incapacity and incompetence of its military chiefs to resist the rebel army, Cyroth decided to go to the front in person. Upon receiving objections from the cabinet, the Noble Assembly and the Council of State, Cyroth pronounced: "If they can prevent me from going as a King, they cannot prevent me from abdicating and going as a Fatherland Volunteer"—an allusion to those Kymurians who volunteered to go to war and became known throughout the nation as the "Fatherland Volunteers". The monarch himself was popularly called the "Number-one volunteer". Given permission to leave, Cyroth travelled overland by horse and wagon, sleeping at night in a campaign tent. While House Flores achieved some initial (albeit minor) victories they were ultimately crushed by Duke Caxa and his imperial force. The Frenntolic Rebellion proved to be a far more serious crisis, however, with a rebel army quickly reaching the outskirts of Saffira City, and a number of harsh and humiliating defeats were inflicted on the Kymurian armies. After the Battle of Tayat, however, it became clear that Frenntolic forces would not prevail. Against all expectations, the war continued for five years. During this period, Cyroth's time and energy were devoted to the war effort. He tirelessly worked to raise and equip troops to reinforce the front lines and to push forward the fitting of new warships for the navy. The rape of women, widespread violence against civilians, ransacking and destruction of properties that had occurred during Frenntolic's invasion of Kymurian territory had made a deep impression on him. He warned the Countess of Barral in that "the war should be concluded as honour demands, cost what it shall cost." Difficulties, setbacks, and war-weariness had no effect on his quiet resolve", said Barral. Mounting casualties did not distract him from advancing what he saw as Kymuria's righteous cause, and he stood prepared to personally sacrifice his own throne to gain an Honorable outcome. Writing in his journal a few years previously Cyroth remarked: "What sort of fear could I have? That they take the government from me? Many better kings than I have lost it, and to me it is no more than the weight of a standard which it is my duty to carry." His refusal to accept anything short of total victory was pivotal in the final outcome. His tenacity was well-paid with the news that Frenntolic had died in battle, bringing the war to a close. Emperor of the Kymurians The conclusion of the war had led Cyroth to believe that a stronger, more central government was required to maintain Kymurian strength, but did not wish to rule as a total autocrat through the army. Instead, he had himself re-coronated as "Emperor of Kymuria" and began a series of sweeping reforms known as the Imperial System. Later Rule After the war, Emperor Cyroth's popularity soared, and he became known as the man who saved Kymuria. At an advanced age and suffering several illnesses, Cyroth collapsed due to a stroke in the Jubilee chamber of the Saffira Great Hall. He fell into a coma and was pronounced dead three hours later. Category:Rulers